Bosch technology on board the Dallara Stradale

Abstatt, Varano de’ Melegari, Italy – A lifelong dream just came true. The Italian race-car chassis builder is shipping its first street-legal vehicle – the Dallara Stradale. It fulfills a long-pursued wish for company founder Giampaolo Dallara. With 400 hp and weighing just 855 kilos, this new sports car promises pure driving pleasure. Merely getting into this door-less two-seater feels like climbing into a Formula One racer. Dallara joined forces with Bosch to develop the key safety and engine control systems needed to handle this extreme sports car on the road and race track, pairing peak performance with maximum safety to make it a joy to drive.

Custom software solutions for the best handling and performance

It took chassis-builder Dallara less than three years to develop its first street-legal sports car. To this end, the Italian company called on the development services of Bosch Engineering, a wholly-owned Bosch subsidiary, for software and hardware support. Designing a street-legal car for the race track and engineering it for both peak performance and utmost safety presented a big challenge for the two teams. A vehicle built for such extremes has some unique demands for technology to meet. The software and hardware for the engine control unit had to be adapted to the vehicle’s extremely light design and unusual architecture. Its engine is equipped with a gasoline particulate filter and, yet it always performs to its full potential with the benefit of tailored engine control strategies, sophisticated engine applications, and an effective direct injection system.

“Right from the start, I was thrilled by this project. Besides the professionalism it was especially the great passion to transfer the technology and the spirit of racing into this fantastic sports car. This is also reflected in our extremely effective and reliable cooperation, which made a very short development time possible," says Bernhard Bihr, Chairman of the Board of Management, Bosch Engineering GmbH. "We are delighted to have been able to support Giampaolo Dallara in realising his life's dream and to have been part of this great project".

Custom hardware

The Dallara Stradale features the Bosch ESP 9.1 Electronic Stability Program. This system was developed to ensure drivers excellent control over the vehicle even under the most extreme driving conditions such as on a race track. Equipped with a special sensor system, the ESP provides stability control for the Stradale, despite its very dynamic performance at a lateral acceleration beyond 2 g. The ESP was calibrated jointly with the customer to rule out any adverse intervention. This system enables drivers to enjoy a sporty motoring experience without compromising safety and stability. Its purpose is to retain dynamic handling at the wheel and performance at the limit.

As a development partner, Bosch Engineering was on board the project from start to finish, supporting Dallara with comprehensive consulting and services ranging from test bench measurements and test drives to holistic vehicle development.